Funding Facilities
Funding Facilities are larger (in grant volume) programme set-ups where grant awarding is the main or only programme modality. Grant funding is awarded to third parties (i.e. sub projects) on a competitive basis. Project proposals are developed and owned by the third party and selection is based on which projects contribute the most impact to the overall funding objective. This selection is made through Calls for Proposals with specified criteria and evaluators. The projects are implemented by the third parties themselves, guided by the programme to ensure compliance with procurement, financial management, progress and impact monitoring and reporting and ESG compliance.
Biodiversity Challenge Funds (BCFs)
FUNDER:
UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
DURATION:
4/2003-4/2025
FUND VALUE:
€346,547,343.78
Biodiversity Challenge Funds (BCFs) is the collective name for three of the UK Government's competitive grants: Darwin Initiative, IWT Challenge Fund and Darwin Plus, aimed at conserving biodiversity and safeguarding the environment for local people. NIRAS is the administrator for all three funds. We have been responsible for managing as many as 800 grant applications per year. We monitor and evaluate over 300 live projects at any given time and provide financial management of and technical support to the projects, including the commissioning of studies, analyses, and briefing notes. NIRAS also manages the BCF (collective and sub) websites and digital communications. BCF supports projects across the globe. One example is a Darwin Initiative-funded project in northern Benin where students' associations are involved in reforestation and agroforestry activities to expand habitats, increase biodiversity, and generate income for the school and community.
Off-Grid Clean Energy Facility (OCEF)
DONOR:
MMC
DURATION:
2017-2023
FUND VALUE:
€28,503,030
The Off-Grid Clean Energy Facility (OCEF) was a €28,5 M challenge fund that co-financed commercial energy projects meeting the needs of communities in Benin that cannot connect to the national electricity grid. Administered by the Millennium Challenge Corporation and managed by NIRAS, throughout its six years of operation, OCEF supported clean energy projects in four areas: supply of public infrastructure; installation and operation of mini grids; distribution of solar home kits, and energy efficiency.
The Education to Employment (E2E)
FUNDER:
SDC
DURATION:
2016-2027
FUND VALUE:
€1,602,752.11
The Education to Employment (E2E) project is a Serbian-Swiss partnership that creates job prospects and improved career paths for Serbian youth through work-based learning (WBL) and development of career counselling and guidance services. NIRAS implements E2E, which includes managing a Call for Employers that provides technical and financial assistance to private sector employers in need of qualified workers through the organisation of various WBL opportunities.
Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA)
FUNDER:
KfW and the EU
DURATION:
2018-2024
FUND VALUE:
€88,000,000
The Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA) is an African Union Commission intervention implemented by the African Union Development Agency with the support of the Federal Republic of Germany and the EU. SIFA provides grants for projects, selected through a competitive evaluation process, that strengthen the occupational prospects of young people in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Togo and Tunisia. NIRAS administers the €88 M fund that finances and provides capacity building support to projects that improve employment-oriented skills development for young people.